Frank conrad



' F. 00mm.

CONNECTOR. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 25.1913.

1 ,3]. 83,728., Patented 001114, 1919 INVENTOR mfl mMM BY WW/ ATTORNEYTo all whom it may concern n1) STATES PATENT;

remix comm, orrlr'rssonen, rmmsrnvmu, nssrsnon 'ro wrisrrn enousnELECTRIG-AND mancracrunme comrnmz, A; conronarron' or rn'niisrnvnmfa.

' counnc'ron.

Be it known that L-FRANK Comm 8. citizen of the United States, and a.resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new .-.and useful-Improvement inConnectors, of d which the following is a specification.

'My-invention relates to connectors such I as are employed in connectionwith incandcscent lamps for automobiles, or' other motor vehicles, andit has for its object to provide such a device that shall comprise fewand simple parts which may be-assembled easily to produce a neat andcompact struc- .ture.

Another object of my invention is to pro- 'vide a connector having meanswhereby a lamp socket, or other codperating device is securely held inposition. l

In practising myinven-tion, I provide a. connector that comprises aslidably mounted Specification or tetten Patent. fApplieation filedDecember 28,1913. Serial No. $8.782. 1 j

,p'ortion ll'whi'chprojects into the 'rtionj-Q" the contact member.

hollow contact member within which is a.

spring of'such length that an approximately uniform tension is appliedto the contact niember throughout its range of movement. The contactmember is so-constructed as to be readily inserted in place and to bere- 'tained in position in engagement with the spring.

The details of my'invention will be described in connection with theaccompanyin-g drawing in which Figure 1 is a view, in

longitudinal section, of 'a connector constructed in accordance with myinvention and Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are similar views of modifications.

the casing2 which has the larger diameter.'

The reduced portion 3'of"th e casing -2- is provided with a slot 6 toreceive a suitable coacting member of an incandescent-lampwhich, with'the-slot 6, forms thewell known bayonet joint. An axially "disposedmember i' of-"brass or other suitable metaL'is pro-- vided with a; bore8, the inner portion 9 of which has a diameter larger'than that of its'outerf'portiom A hollow contact'member 10,

high is slidably mounted within tli'eliore 8,

- Patented Oct. '14, 1919.-

is provided, at its inner end, with a flange of the bore 8' andcoacts-with' a $11 11 del' 1 01'.

tion 1'2 to limit the outward movement-off The "contact member 10 isalso with aslit' 13 which is sufficiently wide to .permit the insertionof the flange portion '11.

within the bore 8 when'the slit 13 is wholly or partially closed bypressure upon oppoite sides of th'e'contact mcr'nbe'r. The ollt/erv endportion 14 of the contact member" 10 is pointed for engagement with acoabting'cdm tact member oflaninoandscent lamp. A spring '15, which isinclosed by' the contact member 10, normally retains the'latter in thepositionillustrated, vvitluthe'fi'angep other-terminal of thela 'ipbeing grounded t-lirough'the' casing 2.

In the construction of the connector,- the member 7 is provided'witlrthebore 8 whichis, at first, of uniform diameter. Then'"tlio inner portion9 of the bores is enlarged by a suitabletool. I The member 7isth'en'placed in a suitable mold'nndsurro'unded by the-in-' sulatingmaterial while the "latter is in a. liquid or plastic state. Thespring-15 ,is then inserted in the bore 8. The inner'endofthe contactmember 10 is compressed to close'thq' slit '13 and is then inserted inthe bore 8.

The contact member 10 is sufficiently resilient to cause thceiid'portions to sep'arate when the flange portion '11 has passed theshoulder "Bgrtion 12j and thus retain the contact mein r spring 15compressed 'between the outer end of the contact member andthe' member7. This construction" also serves to provide 10fin position' with the.mdi'al pressi" engagement between'jthe members 7 an: 11) and'inconjnnction with the large areaof' engaging-surface'between;

insure good cleaner-Leander between thm,

to provide; guidssu'rfm '1 latter moves relative member 10 which amen v.b i 'i in f' E t e y to tl'ie' memberfl 'L .LBy providing 'a tubularcontact member, the

as as: w

fies

spring m nty be ofsuia'tiehtlengtli'liioim sure an. approximatelyuni'fijmn tension as 11: 1s compressedfupon-gthe.linsertionj ofprovidedincandescent lamp,'and=ii t the same time, a

neat and compact structiire is secured.

- A modification'is illustrated in Fig. 2 in which like numerals.designate correspond.-

ing parts. :The construction difiers m no material respect from tliat ofthe connector illustrated in Fig. 1, the parts having slightly differentshapes and relative di- .mensions.- Amounting ;rin'g131,' which issoldered to the reduced'p'ortion 3 0f the bus ing 2, servesto limit themovement of the connector in one directioh :ifterit has been i Themodification illustrated in Figs is.

placed in its operative ppsitidn..

practically identical with tlie device of Fig. 1 except that the. member7 and the body member 5- are respectively provided with axial openings17 and 18 toreceive a. conductor terminal 19 for endwise connectioninstead of lateral connection, as in Fig. 1.

Iii-the modification illustrated in Fig. 4

the casing 20 is provided with reduced end portions-21 each of which isprovided with aslot 6. A conductor member 22 is pro- 1 vidcd with a bore23 having acentral enlargcd portion 24. Contact members 10 are"oppositely disposed in.the bore 23 and are normally, retained in thepositions illusmovable relatively and Since the connector is symmetricalwith respect to a central transverse plane, the ends trated by a spring25'that bears, at its ends,

against the outer. ends of the-contact members 10. The contact members10 are thus simultaneously.

are interchangeable, each being adapted for connection to a lamp or to aconductor terminal; that is constructed to coact therewith.

A fourth modification is shown in Fig. 5. The casing 2 is similar. inshape to that shown in Figs. 1 and 3, while the body member 5 is reducedat the end within the easing 2 and is incased by a sleeve 26. A sleeve27, which is slidably mounted within the casing-2, is provided, at itsinner end, with ajflaiige portion 28 which is normally heldin engagementwith the shoulder portion 4: of the casing 2 by a spring 29. The sleeve27 is provided, at its outer end, with an inwardly extending flangeportion 31 that is adapted to engage the end of the lamp to hold thelatter firmlyin position. The connector differs materially in no otherrespect from the modification shown in Fig.

. I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a connector having an opening and a shoulderportion with- I in the opening, a contact member slid ab ly mounted inthe opening and adapted to 'norm ally bear against thev shoulder in theconnector-,of an insulating member disposed around the connect(forinsulating the connector and having. shoulder at one end .member anda resiliently mounted sleeve adapted to be slidably mounted between thecasings.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto insulating subscribed my name this19th day of Dec. I

' FRANK CONRAD.

Witnessesz F. H. PATTEN, B. B. HINES.

